Category Archives: Dining News

The Charleston Gazette reported yesterday that Aubrey’s Yorkshire Pub in St. Albans had announced that they were closing their doors. It’s always sad to see a locally-owned place close, especially one in my hometown. I have only eaten at Aubrey’s twice, but both visits were really nice. The rest of the Fork You crew forked Aubrey’s in 2010. You can read their reviews here. Sorry to see you go, Aubrey’s.

…of the Town Center location, specifically. In August, the Daily Mail reported that both Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Qdoba Mexican Grill were opening new locations at the Charleston Town Center and at Southridge in the Dudley Farms plaza.

Both restaurants will share the former Gratzi location at the Town Center and are scheduled to open before the holidays. Five Guys will occupy the space that was formerly All Care Dental at Dudley Farms and Qdoba will occupy part of the space where Shoe Carnival used to be.

Town Center location from accross the street

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is hugely popular and has 750 locations in 40 other states. I’d heard about it a few years back and ate at one in Myrtle Beach. I’ve yet to eat at the Huntington location in Pullman Square. Five Guys is known for its gigantic burgers and fresh-cut fries. I thought it was good, but nothing all that special.

Qdoba is a “fast casual” chain that serves “fresh Mex” food. There are over 700 locations throughout the U.S., including at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville. It sounds a lot like Cilantro’s, which I loved, so maybe I’ll give it a try soon.

I predict both restaurants at both of their new locations will do well.

I took the bait and accepted. There were a few wall posts. One, posted by “Blossom Deli” on October 9 said “November 2010… A Charleston Landmark Returns!”. A friend asked for the identity of the new owners, to which Blossom Deli replied: “I can’t be that easy; where’s the suspense in that?”

If you are interested, send Blossom Deli a friend request on Facebook. Friend count is at 274 and climbing. Let’s see what transpires!

Do you like a cocktail with dinner? How about a martini with some unique appetizers? South Hills Market & Cafe now has a liquor license. They start serving drinks today at their new bar. Enjoy a whiskey ginger with some truffle oiled popcorn.

The roasted wild bass with cauliflower purée, roasted oyster mushroom, baby carrots and asparagus looks like a winner to me.

As I was driving to work this morning constantly switching radio stations to find music instead of talking and failing miserably, I paused at V100 for the local news. I heard that Blossom Deli will be closing their doors this weekend.

Closed for dinner. Closed for lunch. Closed.

This is the second Sohovich restaurant to close. First Billy’s, which was open and then closed and the open and then closed. Now the nostalgic Blossom Deli that reopened under Bill Sohovich’s reign 16 years ago. You’ll recall that recently the Blossom closed for dinner and then again offered dinner on a limited basis with a revamped menu. Is this a sign that Soho’s could be next on the chopping block? I hope not.

If you are a regular at Myrtle Beach, you are probably familiar with The Filling Station. Serving up a pizza buffet at almost ridiculously low prices has been their recipe for success for three decades. Their location on Kings Highway and 16th Avenue North was a popular destination for poor college kids and families alike. If you look for The Filling Station now, however, you may run into the same problems we did.

As an iPhone addict, I don’t worry about getting directions or planning in too much detail for trips. I can google whatever I need and use the GPS feature to find it. We googled “The Filling Station” and clicked on “Directions”. My phone was telling me to go in a different direction than I expected. More googling ensued and we determined they had moved. The new location is 1913 Mr. Joe White Ave (10th & 11th Ave. North). No problem – my GPS will take us straight there.